5 Keys to Effective Team Meetings

These five practices help teams run focused meetings that resolve issues, remove barriers, and end with clear accountability. They are adapted from the Level 10 Meeting in the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) by Gino Wickman.

1. Have a clear purpose for the meeting.

2. Have a clear written agenda and follow it.

3. Invite only relevant people, require their participation, and specify what each person must prepare and bring to the meeting.

4. Set and keep a specific start and end time.

5. End the meeting with clear commitments on who does what by when.

As an organizational coach, I recommend using in-person team meetings primarily to address issues. Begin with a brief check-in from each member, and end with clear agreements that identify who will complete each action by what deadline.

I recommend avoiding just updating project status and providing information that could be done more efficiently in an email.  A focus on solving problems to facilitate the execution of tasks should be the goal.  The purpose of such meetings is to solve problems, remove barriers, and supply resources to move team execution forward.

I also recommend that this type of meeting be scheduled at a regular time and day and be mandatory for the members of that team.  After a brief check-in, there needs to be a quick accountability for all commitments from the last meeting. If tasks have not been completed, that issue must be returned to the current issues list.  Any other outstanding issues/problems need to be added to the current issues list, and the list needs to be prioritized. 

Beginning with the top issue, four questions must be answered to solve the problem. 

·         First, what is the problem?

·         Second, what caused the problem? 

·         Third, what will it look like when the problem is solved?

·         And last, what will solve the problem? 

The order of the questions is important. The solution needs to be translated into an action plan that dictates WHO does WHAT by WHEN.  Only then can the issue be removed from the list and the team can proceed to the next issue.

Regular, consistent problem-solving meetings conducted well will create amazing results.